Newsmakers of 2011 11-20

Sierra Nevada works on Dream Chaser

LOUISVILLE – The future of manned spaceflight could be made in Colorado, and if it is, its cradle could be the Boulder Valley.

A low-slung, unassuming warehouse in the Colorado Technology Center in Louisville, to be precise.

That is the home of the space systems group of the Sierra Nevada Corp., a privately held company based in Sparks, Nevada that is trying to build a spacecraft that would replace NASA’s soon-to-be retired fleet of space shuttles.

The spacecraft, named the Dream Chaser Orbital Space Transportation System, would carry a crew of up to seven passengers and cargo into space.

The Dream Chaser would launch into space atop an Atlas V rocket and, like the Space Shuttle; it would land on a runway, be reusable and fulfill similar missions, such as carrying astronauts to the International Space Station.

But unlike the Space Shuttle, the Dream Chaser will be owned and operated by a private company; in this case Sierra Nevada Corp. NASA astronauts could be just some of the many clients the Dream Chaser carries into space.

Full-size models of the vehicle are being built in the Louisville facility, including a cockpit simulator SNC employees and graduate students from the University of Colorado will use to develop the instrumentation and control panels.

About 100 Sierra Nevada employees are working on the Dream Chaser, and a dozen other companies or organizations are working on the project, said Mark Sirangelo, head of SNC’s space systems group. If all goes according to plan, the Dream Chaser could be in orbit by 2014, he said.

If all that seems far-fetched, it’s not, at least in the eyes of NASA, which in April awarded Sierra Nevada an $80 million grant to develop the Dream Chaser as part of the Commercial Crew Development Program.

The program is part of the agency’s effort to promote the commercial spaceflight industry, and Sierra Nevada is one of several companies and institutions in the Boulder area that are looking to capitalize.

– Michael Davidson

Covidien builds innovation center

BOULDER – Plans for an innovative surgical device could be the first thing to come out of the new 63,000-square-foot research and development center at Covidien Plc’s campus in the Gunbarrel neighborhood of Boulder.

Covidien’s $6.7 million Innovation Center in Boulder is designed to attract top-notch workers to the company, said Bryon Hanson, president of Covidien’s campus in Boulder.

“To attract the best minds in the world, we have to create the best place for them to innovate,” Hanson said. “Our new Innovation Center is designed to enable greater collaboration and to stimulate the highest level of creative thinking.”

Boulder’s economic vitality incentives came into play with the expansion that was constructed during the summer. Covidien is eligible for up to $75,000 in city rebates under a flexible rebate program.

– Beth Potter

Best Buy founder in real estate deal

LOUISVILLE – A group of investors that included Richard M. Schulze, founder and chairman of the Best Buy chain of electronics stores, purchased three office buildings totaling 210,689 square feet in the Coal Creek Business Park Corporate Center in Louisville for $32 million on Nov. 30.

The park, which is near the northeast corner of the U.S. Highway 36-McCaslin Boulevard junction, is the home of the corporate headquarters of Cable Television Laboratories Inc., dba CableLabs.

EMC Corp. and Medtronic Navigation Inc., a division of medical technology and device maker Medtronic Inc.

The buyer is FFI CO Coal Creek LLC, a partnership led by Founders Properties LLC. Founders Properties is a real estate investment company co-owned by The Opus Group, a Minnetonka, Minnesota-based real estate development and investment company, and Schulze. Founder Properties is the general partner, and a number of individual investors round out the LLC.

The Multi-Employer Property Trust was the seller. MEPT started developing the office park with Trammel Crow Cos. in the late 1990s.

The largest of the buildings, Coal Creek Business Park Corporate Center 1, 826 Coal Creek Circle, is 79,533 square feet and was built in 1999, according to the Boulder County Assessor’s Office. The two-story building is occupied by Medtronic.

Corporate Center 2 is a 78,422-square-foot office building at 858 Coal Creek Circle and was built in 2001, according to property records. The building, which also is two stories, is occupied by CableLabs.

The Signature Building, at 867 Coal Creek Circle, is 52,734 square feet. EMC Corp. is a tenant.

The deal also included an undeveloped 5-acre parcel of land.

– Michael Davidson

Team effort helps  OnCore stay put

LONGMONT – A 58,800-square-foot manufacturing plant built this summer for OnCore Manufacturing Services LLC kept about 180 jobs in Longmont, with the possibility of 50 more jobs being added during the next two years.

But it took a concerted effort by Realtor Keith Kanemoto, The Neenan Co., the Longmont Area Economic Council and the city of Longmont to work out a plan to help OnCore stay in Longmont as it outgrew its manufacturing facilities in south Longmont.

In the end, low energy rates, a strong work force and a tidy incentive package helped seal the deal.

OnCore Manufacturing Services engineers, designs and manufactures precision industrial components used in industries such as defense, energy, life sciences and medical devices.

Kanemoto, a Realtor with Prudential Rocky Mountain Realtors in Longmont, had been searching for a larger site for OnCore for the past six years.

The Neenan Co., based in Fort Collins, financed, designed and constructed the building, which it owns. OnCore signed a 12-year lease.

The deal included Neenan purchasing 5.2 acres at 5800 Kennedy Drive in the Clover Basin Business Park in southwest Longmont.

Neenan is expected to receive about $252,000 in development-fee rebates from the city of Longmont, which is expected to be passed on to OnCore, possibly through lease rates.

OnCore president and chief executive Dan Perez wanted to keep the engineering, design and manufacturing operations in Longmont, primarily because of its skilled employees.

Kanemoto and John Cody, president and CEO of the Longmont Area Economic Council, worked with Power’s office to facilitate the incentive package. The fees and taxes to be waived include building-permit and plan-check fees, transportation community investment fees, city sales tax and grading permit fees.

– Doug Storum

CU Buffaloes join Pac-12

BOULDER – The University of Colorado is expected to receive more than $20 million per year, along with bumps in fundraising, ticket sales and sponsorships, following it joining the Pac-12 Conference.

A big portion of the money comes from the TV deals the Pac-12 has with Fox and ESPN television networks.

The deal, announced in May, allows member universities to share equally in revenue from the TV stations for the first time ever, pointed out.

“Each member of the league shares equally, so that will be a significant piece of long-term viability of the conference and its membership,´ said Mike Bohn, CU’s athletic director. “We’re pleased with that as a league.”

The University of Colorado Buffs and the University of Utah Utes became part of the sports conference in July.

TV revenue is expected to start at $20.8 million per year for CU and go up once the Pac-12 starts its own TV network.

Fundraising from alumni is expected to increase by about 5 percent as a result of CU’s move to the new conference.

Beth Potter

Chesapeake takes stake in Sundrop

LONGMONT – Chesapeake NG Ventures Corp., a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corp., (NYSE:CHK) paid $155 million for 50 percent equity in biofuel company Sundrop Fuels Inc.

Sundrop Fuels is using that money along with an additional $20 million from current investor Oak Investment Partners, to build a “green gasoline” biorefinery in Louisiana.

Following the infusion of cash in July, Sundrop moved its headquarters from Louisville to Longmont. In November, Sundrop announced plans to buy about 1,200 acres of land near Alexandria, Louisiana, where it will build its first production plant. The new plant will make “green gasoline” for consumer use. It is expected to cost $450 million to $500 million to build and could employ 150 people.

It will be financed, in part, by tax-exempt private activity bonds, which do not require any public funding or participation.

The refinery is expected to produce more than 40 million gallons of gas every year, using Sundrop Fuels’ technology of heat transfer, and the ExxonMobil methanol-to-gasoline process. Cellulose materials will be used to make the gasoline.

Sundrop Fuels plans to build several new biorefineries with its technology, each capable of generating more than 200 million gallons of biofuel every year.

– Beth Potter

UQM ratchets up e-motor volume

LONGMONT – UQM Technologies Inc. (NYSE Amex: UQM) in October began high-volume production of its PowerPhase Pro electric motors and controllers.

The company’s 129,000-square-foot production plant located east of Longmont at 4120 Specialty Place in Weld County has a capacity of 40,000 units on two shifts.

“The launch of volume production of our electric motors and controllers marks a new milestone in the history of UQM Technologies and is a significant step in the broad commercialization of our electric propulsion systems,´ said Eric Ridenour, UQM’s president and chief executive.

UQM Technologies is a developer and manufacturer of electric motors, generators and power electronic controllers for the automotive, aerospace, military and industrial markets.

Ridenour is overseeing UQM as it greatly expands production to provide motors to CODA Automotive Inc., a privately held company based in Santa Monica, California. CODA is designing and building an all-electric four-door sedan that will be able to get 90 to 120 miles per charge and reach speeds of 80 miles per hour. It is expected to start production this year.

CODA will rely on UQM’s PowerPhase 100 electric propulsion system, which delivers 100 kilowatts, the equivalent of 134 horsepower, of peak power. The motor is 11 inches in diameter and 10 inches long and weighs about 100 pounds.

UQM also has contracts with a growing number of established auto companies Saab, Audi and Rolls-Royce to provide motors for their test fleets of vehicles.

– Michael Davidson

Elevations, St. Vrain credit unions merge

BOULDER – Elevations Credit Union in Boulder and St. Vrain Valley Credit Union in Longmont merged on Oct. 1.

The new credit union takes Elevation’s name and has 11 branch offices across the Front Range. It is serving approximately 95,000 members and has assets of approximately $1 billion.

Gerry Agnes, president and chief executive of Boulder-based Elevations, continues in his role. St. Vrain president Eva Guadio joined Elevations’ senior executive team, and two St. Vrain board members were given seats on its new board of directors.

Elevations Credit Union was formed in 1952 to serve faculty and staff of the University of Colorado Boulder. The credit union serves more than 85,000 members along the Front Range with assets of more than $975 million.

St. Vrain Valley Credit Union was started in 1954 to serve the St. Vrain Valley School District. It currently serves more than 9,400 members with assets of more than $80 million.

Both organizations have capital ratios of more than 9 percent. They are nonprofit, member-owned financial cooperatives, run by volunteer boards of directors.

All St. Vrain employees became Elevations employees.

– Beth Potter

Federated Media acquires Lijit

BOULDER – Lijit Networks Inc., a Boulder-based startup, announced in October it was acquired by a San Francisco-based Internet marketing company in a private stock deal insiders say “ranks among the most significant outcomes for the region in the past 10 years.”

Federated Media paid just “south of $100 million” in stock to acquire Lijit Networks, according to Fortune Magazine.

Federated Media Publishing Inc. specializes in helping advertisers produce online campaigns and conversational marketing programs.

Since its inception in 2006, Lijit has raised about $30 million in venture capital, including strong backing from The Foundry Group in Boulder.

The deal creates a company that could grow into a major player in the Internet advertising industry, Lijit founder and chief executive Todd Vernon said.

“You put the two companies together, and you create a major media company that can compete with the likes of Yahoo,” Vernon said.

Lijit will operate as an independent entity in the company, and its headquarters and 50-plus employees will remain in Boulder, Vernon said. Lijit’s leadership team will be given senior roles with Federated Media.

The deal is a marriage of complementary companies, Vernon said. Federated Media sells premium inventory to publishers and has a strong sales force, while Lijit has a network of more than 70,000 online publishers and software engineering expertise, he said. Lijit has developed an Internet advertising platform that helps connect advertisers with content publishers and enables real-time bidding for ads.

– Michael Davidson

Startup Colorado turns to Boulder

BOULDER – Cities up and down the Front Range are trying to grab some of Boulder’s entrepreneurial mojo, and leading figures of the local entrepreneurial community are looking to enlist help.

Startup Colorado kicked off on Nov. 9 with a “public launch” at the Wolf Law Building on the University of Colorado campus.

Startup Colorado is a regional initiative devoted to promoting entrepreneurs along Colorado’s Front Range. Its goal is to take some of the lessons Boulder entrepreneurs have learned and export them to Denver, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs.

“Boulder’s got the model. We can help Denver, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins take that playbook and make it work,” CU Law School dean Phil Weiser said.

Those lessons include getting experienced, successful entrepreneurs to commit to nurturing new talent and taking leadership roles in their communities, said Brad Feld, Foundry Group managing director and a Startup Colorado co-chairman.

The traditional business community, venture capitalists or government agencies cannot create the mutually beneficial relationships and institutions entrepreneurs can draw ideas and talent from, Feld said.

“Entrepreneurial communities have to be led by entrepreneurs,” Feld said.

The group’s immediate attention is getting entrepreneurs in each city connected with each other. People in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins realize they can learn from Boulder and want to replicate its success, said Jan Horsfall, a Startup Colorado co-chairman who lives in Colorado Springs. He is a founder and president and CEO of Gelazzi Inc.

“Boulder has established an entrepreneurial fabric that is working, and we have to acknowledge that,” Horsfall said.

– Michael Davidson

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